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Arrows have been flying through the gym all year and especially this last week as the young archers get ready to compete in their first annual state competition in Helena this weekend. It all started over a year ago when Superintendent Preston Wenz met archery instructor Beckie Doyle at a Burger and Bow event. Together they were able to spearhead the idea Wenz had been working on for the last few years of having Trout Creek school join NASP, the National Archery School Program, into a reality.

Thirty students in grades 4-11 are involved in the program with Doyle as the head coach. Doyle has been coaching archery since 2001 when she and her husband started coaching 4-H archery. She is also a bowhunting instructor. "We couldn't do this without our volunteers that come twice a week to help coach," said Doyle.

Volunteer Ruth Boyer blows the whistle and then the archers have two minutes to shoot five arrows. They shoot three rounds at 10 meters and three rounds at 15 meters. She said that some kids will shoot all five arrows in 45 seconds. The students shoot between five and 20 pounds, whatever they are capable of.

Fourth grader JJ Boyer said that he is hoping to score 300 at the competition (the top possible score) and his last best score was 248. Fifth grader Shaylyn Stein said that she was just looking forward to going. "I've been to one competition outside and it was huge!"

There will be 200 students competing across the state at this weekend's competition and the students will compete as a team, grouped by age, and on an individual basis. Doyle said that at the competition there will be 50-60 kids shooting at once and told the kids how important it was to follow the rules. If they do well they will have an opportunity to shoot at Nationals in Utah later this Spring. The Trout Creek community helped raise $5,000 in the last three months to help make the dream possible for the young archers. Wenz said this competition is "super special," because it's their first one.

"The reason I like archery is because everyone can participate at their own level and it brings families together," said Doyle. She said that it was a big part of her family's life as well.

On April 1 at the Sanders County Dodgeball Tournament in Trout Creek, the Archery Club will be running the concession stand to help raise money for travel and equipment. Doyle said that it will be a lot of fun and they still need people to join in on teams.